SAIC Motor Corp. (600104), China’s biggest carmaker, rose for a second day in Shanghai trading, heading for a 17-month high, after its municipal government agreed to offer rebates to consumers buying hybrid or electric vehicles.

The stock climbed 3.3 percent to 17.67 yuan at 11:22 a.m. in Shanghai, heading for its highest close since July 2011. The gain follows a 3.6 percent advance the previous trading day, paving the way for SAIC to gain 25 percent for the year, its biggest annual increase since 2009. BYD Co. and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. also rose in Hong Kong and Shenzhen respectively.

The government in Shanghai, one of six municipalities approved to subsidize the purchase of hybrid and electric vehicles using both central and local funding, said Dec. 28 it will offer as much as a 40,000 yuan ($6,422) rebate to motorists. The move is part of China’s plans to put half a million so- called new energy vehicles on its roads by 2015 and more than 5 million units by 2020.
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